Paul Toboni Hires New GM of Nationals by Plucking Away Phillies Executive

The Washington Nationals have hired their new general manager.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

When Paul Toboni was hired as the Washington Nationals new president of baseball operations, it wasn't clear if he would bring on a general manager under him.

The 35-year-old decided to retain interim general manager Mike DeBartolo on his staff underneath of him, but it wasn't clear at the time if it was in the GM role or not. Later information revealed that DeBartolo would return to his original assistant GM position, which left the actual general manager spot open if Toboni wanted to fill it.

There wasn't much out there regarding if the Nationals would have a GM in 2026 or not. Toboni got to work on filling out the rest of his front office and finding a manager and coaching staff to lead the clubhouse before focusing on offseason activities.

But now, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Washington has decided to hire a general manager.

The Washington Nationals are hiring Ani Kilambi as their new general manager, sources tell ESPN. Kilambi, 31, had been an assistant GM with Philadelphia overseeing its R&D department and will join new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni in rebuilding the Nationals.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 17, 2025

The insider reported that Ani Kilambi will become the new GM of the Nationals. The 31-year-old has been with the Philadelphia Phillies since November 2021 in the research and development department, and he will now depart for the nation's capital.

Kilambi's hire is the latest example of Washington continuing to skew younger when it comes to their leadership team across the front office and coaching staff. Not only is Toboni 35 years old, but manager Blake Butera is 33 years old and now the general manager is 31.

What Background Does Ani Kilambi Have?

Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Because of Kilambi's youth, there will likely be a good portion of the fanbase that wonders about his qualifications. But after graduating from the University of California, Berkley with a bachelor's degree in statistics and operations research and management science in 2016, he was hired by the Tampa Bay Rays as their assistant of baseball research and development following being an intern in that department.

From there, he worked his way up the ladder. In November 2017, he was promoted to an analyst of predictive modeling and baseball research and development. Then, a year later, he was promoted to assistant director of that department. He served in that role for three years before being named director of decision science prior to taking the job with the Phillies.

Kilambi was hired in his assistant general manager role in 2021. He was in charge of the Philadelphia's research department and the their use of data throughout the organization. According to an MLB.com story back in 2022, he was considered a rising star in the sport and is well regarded.

What Nationals Are Getting From Ani Kilambi

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

It's not clear exactly what the role Kilambi is going to play with Washington, but it seems like he is going to head up the research and development department for the franchise. That is huge news when it comes to getting the organization into this modern era of baseball.

The Nationals have long had a reputation of being behind when it comes to embracing cutting edge technology, so adding someone like Kilambi is the latest example of Toboni working to modernize his front office and get them set up to succeed for a long period of time.

More information will come out regarding what exactly Kilambi is going to do in Washington. But for now, this is an exciting hire that should be celebrated since it also weakens a division rival.